Jesus in Love Blog

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

The Jesus in Love Blog has moved to Qspirit.net, a new website on queer spirituality with LGBTQ saints, history and books.

Please visit Qspirit.net/blog/ and save the link to keep up with future posts from the Jesus in Love Blog.

People who currently get posts by email will need to sign up again to continue their email subscription. There is no need to update subscriptions to the monthly newsletter.

The new Qspirit.net website will make the Jesus in Love blog much more accessible to people through mobile devices, social media and search engines. Q Spirit has a new Facebook page at facebook.com/qspiritual.

The Q Spirit project comes from lesbian Christian author Kittredge Cherry, who founded Jesusinlove.org in 2005 and launched Q Spirit in November 2016.

The Jesus in Love Blog expands the meaning of holiness by presenting diverse historical people, events and books of spiritual and religious significance to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people of faith and allies. It promotes LGBTQ spirituality and religious freedom by teaching love for all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

“Q Spirit means queer spirituality. It also stands for questioning spiritual traditions,” she said. “The name Q Spirit is a more accurate reflection of the content on my blog, which has grown beyond my initial focus on just Jesus to include many LGBTQ spiritual figures and other religious traditions. Don’t worry, my Jesusinlove.org website will continue to emphasize LGBTQ visions of Christ. Q Spirit provides extra room to grow.”

The Q in LGBTQ can mean “queer” or refer to people who are “questioning” their gender identity or sexual orientation.

“The Q Spirit website is about questioning spiritual and religious assumptions,” Cherry explained. “It questions standard Bible interpretations and conventional history. I bring a spirit of questioning authority and checking facts to my website. Q Spirit is on a quest for spirituality beyond all boundaries.”

The Q Spirit logo symbolizes the universal Spirit expressed in a unique way through queer experience. Cherry worked with queer Welsh artist Andrew Craig Murphy-Williams to design the logo. The rainbow colors of the contemporary LGBTQ flag create a colorful “Q” with a long tail that cradles and uplifts the Spirit. Basic black text conveys the fundamental, all-inclusive quality of the Spirit.

Cherry is passionately committed to Jesus in Love and Q Spirit because they grew out of her own personal journey as an author, minister and historian. She considers her work at Jesus in Love and Q Spirit to be a calling that she aims to pursue with grace even in the face of bigotry.

“I will keep faith with my responsibilities as a writer who seeks to know and reveal the all-inclusive nature of God,” she said.

Cherry has earned the trust of thousands of readers. At this time of transition, she reaffirms that she will continue bringing them cutting-edge LGBTQ spiritual articles. “I promise to keep doing what I believe in: presenting LGBTQ spirituality so that people can make up their own minds."

Jesusinlove.org was launched almost exactly 11 years ago on Nov. 17, 2005 with a news release titled “New website dares to show gay Jesus.” The very first blog post here at jesusinlove.blogspot.com was “Introduction” on June 26, 2007. Nine years later, the Jesus in Love Blog must change with the times and adopt a better blogging platform.

Q Spirit will become an online home for past and future articles from the Jesus in Love Blog and Newsletter. Readers call it inspiring, informative, courageous, “truly a light in the darkness for gay Christians” and “always fabulous."

Thursday, October 27, 2016

Allen Schindler (1969-1992) brought international attention to anti-gay hate crimes and gays in the military when he died on this date (Oct. 27) in 1992.

Maybe Allen Schindler is resting more peacefully now that the U.S. military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy against gays and lesbians in the military ended on Sept. 20, 2011.

Today also happens to be Navy Day in the United States. Remembering the service of Allen Schindler is a fitting way to mark the day.

Allen R. Schindler, Jr.

Schindler was a U.S. naval petty officer who was brutally beaten to death because he was gay by two of his shipmates in a public restroom in Sasebo, Japan. Schindler’s murder was cited by President Bill Clinton and others in the debate about gays in the military that culminated in the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. The crime is portrayed in an epic painting by gay artist Matthew Wettlaufer, who makes connections between anti-gay violence and other human rights struggles in his art.

At first the Navy tried to cover up the circumstances of Schindler’s death. The movie “Any Mother’s Son” tells the true story of how his mother, Dorothy Hadjys-Holman, overcame her own homophobia and Naval cover-up attempts to get justice for her gay son. She also spoke at the 1993 March on Washington for LGBT Rights.

American Veterans for Equal Rights
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This post is part of the GLBT Saints series at the Jesus in Love Blog. Saints, martyrs, heroes and holy people of special interest to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) people and our allies are covered on appropriate dates throughout the year.

Jesus in Love January Newsletter is out! Gay wedding of Jesus and beloved disciple John at Cana in art by Christopher Olwage, Bridge of Light ceremony honors LGBT culture on New Year's Eve, David and Jonathan, queer Epiphany.

New art film on St Sebastian, queer saints and homophobic violence by British artist Tony O'Connell, why we need LGBT saints, 8 new LGBT saints added, LGBT-friendly memorial for All Saints/All Souls Day

Top 25 LGBT Christian books of 2014, LGBTIQ scholars meet at American Academy of Religion, AIDS saints Vivaldo and Bartolo, queer art showing Our Lady of Guadalupe, John of the Cross, book video for "The Passion of Christ: A Gay Vision."

Christmas chant honors Christ the bridegroom: Cum ortus fuerit sol de Caelo; Some children see Him queer or gay: New rainbow version of Christmas carol "Some Children See Him," queer Nativity debate, Queer Lady of Guadalupe, Lazarus as Jesus' beloved disciple, Ruth and Naomi, John of the Cross

Sample issue of KC Update, a monthly e-newsletter with timely reflections on LGBT spirituality and art plus a report on her latest activities. KC Update is available only to paid subscribers for $25 per month.

Ethiopian eunuch shows early church welcomed queers, gay teen wins right to wear "Jesus is not a homophobe" shirt on Day of Silence, lesbian poet Christina Rossetti, gay Jesus makes news in the Guardian, Sor Juana de la Cruz loved a countess

Gay Passion of Christ series with art by Douglas Blanchard and new text by Kittredge Cherry, gay Jesus kiss behind the scenes at "Corpus Christi," Queens Esther and Vashti, gay centurion, new queer Christ book by Patrick Cheng

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About me

Kittredge Cherry is a lesbian Christian author and art historian. She founded Jesus In Love in 2005 to support LGBT spirituality and the arts. She was ordained by Metropolitan Community Churches, an LGBT-affirming Christian denomination, and served as its National Ecumenical Officer.

Vision statement

Jesus in Love supports lesbian, gay, bi, trans and queer (LGBTQ) spirituality, with an emphasis on art and literature. It promotes artistic and religious freedom and teaches love for all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. It is based on these beliefs: God loves all people, including sexual minorities. The creative process is sacred. The queer visions, especially the gay Jesus and LGBT saints, will free people to experience the divine in new ways and lead to a more just world. Jesus in Love was founded by lesbian Christian author Kittredge Cherry as her personal project.It is her gift to the world. Many thanks to everyone who supports her vision.

Comment policy

The Jesus in Love Blog encourages open, respectful discussion through comments. We maintain a safe, polite environment by moderating comments based on the following principles:

1. No personal attacks.2. No attacks on groups (including claims that homosexuality is a sin).3. No repetitive comments (same person repeating same idea multiple times on same post).4. No spam.5. Comments must be on topic.6. I reserve the right not to approve any comments for any reason, including those that I find offensive or that create a hostile atmosphere.